Dad's day

My dad passed away 13 years ago

today.

Today I'm celebrating my dad.

Today I'm celebrating my family.

If there's one thing I've gained through the trials in my life it is that they've made me a better person. They've made me stronger.

Our family is stronger. The older we get and the more challenges we face, the more we learn from and lift one another.

My dad left an incredible legacy for my family.

I intend to live up to it, and I'm going to need all the trials the Lord has in store for me to develop the qualities I need in order to do that.

I think that's how Dad approached his cancer. Although it defeated him, he let it make him a better person along the way, and he was a remarkable person.

To my family:

I love you. I'll be thinking of all of you throughout this Service Day.

the weekend cure

I knew things would brighten up this weekend.

Saturday we:

~went to the gym.

~played at the beautiful beach.

~bought BBQ-ed cheese, ice cream bars, a swim skirt, and a sundress for Lydia from beach vendors.

~went to our Brazilian Wal-mart for a few more necessities. One thing I needed was an apron. I came home with this one:

There wasn't a price on it, so the cashier rang it up for the price for a shaving razor hanging nearby in the checkout line, which was 2.78 reais. That's equal to roughly $1.65 USD. (That helps balance out the nearly $10.00 USD I spent on a jar of peanut butter)

I can't wait for our first outdoor BBQ back in the states next August so I can wear my awesome Brazilian "BBQ" apron.

Today was a wonderful Sabbath Day.

We talked to some of our family on the phone. $.021 a minute to the US on Skype!

We have become fast friends with the other American family in our ward. I enjoyed attending Relief Society and Sunday School with Dixie while Lydia slept in my arms. Dixie and Marcus have 3 kids in primary who, with our boys, made up about 1/4 of the primary today. The primary presidency has asked Matt to teach the kids' class (ages 4-7) so that he can teach in both English and Portuguese.

We had a really good dinner and an even better dessert. I can't tell if this picture looks really good or really gross, but the actual product was delicious.

It's my Brazilian version of "Cream Cheese Delight" that my sister used to make using a graham cracker crust, Cool Whip, Cream Cheese, and pie filling for topping.

My version is made with some sort of a shortbread cookie crumb crust, what I think is light cream, cream cheese, and mango & strawberry puree topping.

It's seriously so good. I had to hurry and snap this picture before it was gone.

I might make another dish just to get me through 'till next weekend.

I'm having SUCH a Brazil day

Or so the expat wives here call it. It means a day when everything goes wrong, I can't communicate, and I can't figure out what my husband was thinking dragging me all the way here!

According to them, a little venting cures a Brazil day, so here it goes.

This week has really gone very well. I've been proud of myself for being able to somewhat communicate and get along this week using the few words I know and gestures.

But today was just too much.

We have several things needing to be fixed in our apartment- a leaky dishwasher, windows without locks, a missing key to the front door, a rede for the balcony (a sort of safety net to keep Ethan and Lydia from climbing up and jumping off), etc.

My phone rang ALL morning. It was various people trying to talk to me about (as best as I could figure) these various home maintenance issues. I tried to communicate, but always ended with a defeated, "Eu nao entendo" (I don't understand). This was followed by a short pause, and then another long and rapid dialogue in Portuguese! What didn't they understand about I don't understand? I'd reply with "Eu nao falo Portuguese" (I don't speak Portuguese), followed by another pause, then another long Portuguese response.

What don't they get?! EU NAO FALO PORTUGUESE! I actually hung up on the last 2 of about 15 callers because they didn't seem to care that I didn't understand a word they were saying and kept right on talking. At one point I put the housekeeper on to talk, but a whole lot of good that did. She doesn't speak anymore English than I do Portuguese.

It all hit the fan when I had 4 different people in my apartment at the same time, 3 of whom were frustrated that I wasn't understanding them or answering their questions. The 4th was my Portuguese tutor who was kind, but arrived in the middle of all of this and had to have been frustrated that she spent the first 45 minutes of today's lesson trying to translate between me the others.

My last resort was to call Matt and just pass the phone around the room so I could get to my much needed lesson, but of course he didn't answer. I felt utterly helpless and I am sure they all think I'm a completely uneducated idiot.

If I had known how to say, "Everyone just get out of here!" I would have.

Instead I just started to cry.

At least that got me a little compassion. Actually a lot of compassion. Maybe I'll turn on the waterworks more often. The 3 of them all seemed to figure out what they needed to know, patted me on the shoulder, kindly said goodbye, and I started my lesson.

Okay, I do feel better. Now, I'm going to move on. The rest of my day will include:

~enjoying this view on our walk to pick up Garrett from school,

(this picture does NOT do the landscape here justice. It is absolutely beautiful. Our nice brand new camera has been missing since last week, so we're using our old, worthless one)

~going to the pool with these guys, fully recognizing the fact that we are blessed to not be snowed in, suffering from the flu season, or worse,

~ordering take out for dinner,

~and celebrating the weekend that will start in 3 hours when Matt gets home.

someday I'll tell him

Someday I'll tell him that the "really delicious hard-boiled eggs that were just like regular hard-boiled eggs, except smaller" that he had a school today for lunch were really

Quail Eggs.

For now, I'll just let him love that he gets to go to the cafeteria and eat lunch with all his new friends and be so excited about it that he forgets his tendency to shy away from strange food.

Way to jump into this experience with two feet, Garrett!

then sings my soul

Music has the power to speak to our hearts and invite the spirit- in any language. It spoke to me today.

We attended church for the first time today here in Brazil. Aside from one other American family, the wife of the Rio de Janeiro mission president, and a couple bilingual Brazilians, everyone spoke exclusively Portuguese.

The kids did great. Matt attended Primary with them to translate and make sure they were comfortable. Initially it was a little scary, but it is amazing how loving and accepting children can be and don't allow language to inhibit their communication.

I tried to follow along with the lesson in my Relief Society class as best as I could using my English manual alongside a Portuguese manual, but quickly became lost. I ended up just read the lesson quietly to myself in English, trying not to feel completely isolated while contemplating what on earth I’m doing here.

I suddenly felt a great deal of compassion and understanding of the loneliness, frustration, and confusion that many people I have known in other settings must have felt being the foreigner in my country. I am grateful that my testimony is strong, as I can see how easy it would be to simply stop attending church when it takes so much effort to understand and communicate.

Then it came time for the closing hymn. As the chorister stood for the second time to lead the music without an accompanist at the nearby keyboard, I quietly asked the mission president’s wife sitting next to me if they have anyone to play the piano. She said no, asked if I play, and immediately volunteered me to accompany the closing hymn.

The words were unfamiliar, but the song was the same. I held back the tears as I felt the Spirit for the first time during the meeting while I played for my new sisters and sang to myself, There is Sunshine in My Soul Today.

turning 2

Happy birthday, Liddy girl!

I can't believe my baby girl is not really my baby girl anymore.

Evidently a perk

of having a birthay

during a move

in our family is

getting to celebrate

on multiple occasions.

We celebrated Lydia's

official 2nd birthday today by swimming in the pool, taking a nap, and going grocery shopping to buy a cake and some pretty pink flowers.

We also celebrated two weeks ago at our hotel in California just to be sure she got a proper birthay celebration (in case things were totally crazy this first week in Brazil) and so she could open her presents (and have something to play with at the hotel).

Happily, things are going well

and we didn't forget her birthday, so she did indeed get two celebrations and two chocolate birthday cakes!

She loves her new

Cabbage Patch baby, and the pink & brown boots the boys gave her. She wore them everywhere (at least for that week until we got here where it's too hot to wear anything but sandals!)

We love you, Lou!

another place, another time

I still feel like my head in spinning, both from the jetlag fatigue and the total culture shock. I can't believe an entire week has passed since we boarded that airplane and flew across the ocean. At the same time, it feels like that life I left 7 days ago is so far from my reality and my mind. That's not to say we don't miss it. We miss our family, our friends, and all things familiar, but we really are in such a different world here.

The kids are doing very well. But then who wouldn't love going to the pool and the beach in the middle of February? They love walking to the little market or the bakery down the street and eating coconut popsicles on the way home.

I had my first Portuguese lesson today which was good as I'm a little overwhelmed with trying to communicate with people. It's been great having Matt around all week, but next week's going to be different story when he starts work again. My high school Spanish training is coming back muy rapido, which helps a little, but also somewhat complicates my ability to learn Portuguese.

I had a little melt down on Day 3, still plagued with exhaustion and a stark realization that my family is going to starve because I don't know how to cook anything here.

On Day 4, we walked to the nearby market where I went in alone and bought a few items without Matt's help or translation. That was a huge feat for me. I've now managed to make two dinners, and am finding more stores with more familiar ingredients. We won't starve after all. I guess if all else fails, we have plenty of fruit to choose from!

I'm doing much better and the rest of this week has been great- getting settled, learning the ropes, exploring our neighborhood, relaxing on the beach, and pretty much melting in the heat.

This is going to be quite an adventure, more than I could have ever imagined, but we're having a great time!

getting here

I guess I'd better start at the beginning, for journaling purposes. Last week was completely and utterly nuts. You'd think that with this being our 10th move in 7+ years of marriage, we'd be pretty good at it by now. This move was unlike anything we've ever done before, though. It's all pretty much a blur now, and I'm glad those last two weeks before the move are over. They were filled with too many late nights, final preparations, sick kids, sick parents, last minute changes to our flight and housing arrangements, and a whole lot of stress.

While the company is incredible and does so much to take care of us, there was still an element of unknown that made certain decisions and preparations difficult. We relied on prayer and faith; something we are all gaining a lot of through this experience.

The day prior to our departure began with going to the Oakland Temple. The day couldn't have started any better and I gained a sense of peace and comfort as we embarked on this crazy journey. The rest of the day included:

- the last day of school for the boys

- a visit to the doctor's office with Lydia

- getting a speeding ticket

- turning in our house keys

- two more stops at Target

- sending off our van

- saying goodbye to friends

- and final packing of the suitcases.

I think I got about 4 hours of sleep that night. Our visas were completed on Thursday afternoon and arrived in San Francisco Friday morning via Fed Ex, just in time for us to catch our 11:00 am flight.

The flights went amazingly well. I started to panic as I was standing in line at the gate in Washington DC just prior to boarding our flight to Rio. I was waiting to talk to an agent about switching some of our seats around because the seats we had booked weren't all together. Matt was elsewhere with the kids, and I quickly found myself alone in the midst of a large group of people, primarily Brazilian, all speaking Portuguese. It hit me at that moment that I'm really leaving my world behind.

We were certainly a sight to be seen in the airport in Rio. It seems that Rio is a good place to be with kids. Apparently, if you are spotted in line with a stroller full of kids, you get to cut in front of everyone. While we were standing in two different (and long) lines for customs, some Brazilian airport official came and got us and took us to the front of the line. It was great. I wish I would have gotten a better picture, but I was trying to be discrete as to avoid drawing any more attention to us that we were already getting.

Here are our 4 carts piled as high as possible with 10 of the largest possible pieces of luggage, 7 carry-on bags, and 3 car seats. Three airport employees and Matt pushed the carts while I pushed the kids in the stroller out to our vehicles.

We got to our apartment and pretty much crashed for the next two days!

wherever life takes us: Brazil

Where it all began

Utah

New Jersey

California

Back to home page

Seja bemvindos a Brasil

Well, we made it.

It's been a busy week acclimating ourselves

to the new time, climate, and culture

all the while enjoying the

tropical fruitand the beach. more to come...

D-Day

As in Departure Day. I wish I had time to post a picture of our luggage and blog about the last week we've had, but it's time to go. We survived the last week...wish us luck for the next two days!

It's Super Tuesday.

My vote has been counted.

Has yours?

A Beloved Prophet

It was so peaceful to take a break this weekend from the chaos and stress of this intense and crazy time our lives and spend a couple hours watching the beautiful funeral and tributes to the life of our beloved prophet, President Hinckley, who passed away recently. I cannot go without recording the feelings I've had this last week.

My emotions have been so close to the surface and words cannot fully describe the love I have for that man and the conviction I have that he was a prophet of God. I will miss him. Along with millions of others around the world, he was my prophet.

I realize that a lot of my readers are friends and family that share my beliefs. For those of you who are of different faiths, I want to share with you my conviction that just as God taught and guided his people through a prophet in ancient time, he equally loves his children on the earth today and continues to teach, guide and speak to us through a living prophet.

Our prophet, President Hinckley, was a humble servant of God. In his gentle, loving manner he taught us, counseled us, guided us and encouraged us to "stand a little taller". He urged us to be better people, better parents, better families, and better disciples of Christ.

In short, he loved us. From that love, we feel the love of the Lord and are striving to live our lives in such a way that allows us to return to live with our Lord, our Heavenly Father, again one day.